Fifteen Things To Think About
by Mandee1
Summary: Part 7 - Now that Aisha's with Rocky, she's never been happier, although she does have some apprehensions. "You mean the world to someone."
1. Chapter 1 Jason

A/N: This story is going to be based on a list one of my friends emailed to me. The statements are going to be out of the order I received them in so that I can focus on each Ranger in order of events from the show and the MMPR movie. I will focus on every Ranger through Zeo, and some will be focused on more than once.

Setting: MMPR Season 2, before "Green No More" 

Chapter One

"Thank you so much for coming with me, Jase," Kimberly Hart said to me as we walked into the bookstore together.

I smiled. "Well, we are working on the English project together. It helps if we pick out the book together so we're not writing about different books."

"Let's go over by the Literature section," Kim told me as she led the way through the store.

"Any idea what book you want to do the project on?" I asked once we entered the American Lit section. I began skimming through the titles on the shelves.

"I was thinking maybe Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights," Kim said. "Miss Appleby said it's so romantic, with all these love triangles and everything."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm not too into the whole romance thing."

Kim grinned at me. "It's just a thought. What were you thinking?"

"What about Charles Dickens' War of Eighteen-Twelve?"

Kim scrunched her nose. "War?"

I sighed. "I think this project is going to be harder than we both thought it would be."

"Well, I'm sorry. But Tommy wanted to work with Billy so he could get a really good grade, and Trini had already partnered up with Zack. So it was either choose you as my partner, or work as a group of three with Bulk and Skull."

I laughed at that. "That's true. Okay, let's find a book we can agree on."

Kim and I began reading through all the titles on the shelves, arguing about practically every book on the shelf. Eventually, she went off somewhere by herself, but I stayed where I was, running my finger along the books, desperately trying to find a novel that looked at least semi-decent.

I stopped as a found a copy of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath on the shelf and decided it might be interesting. As I pulled the novel off the shelf, I knocked over the book next to it, and it fell on the floor, opening to a random page. Glancing down at it, I realized it was some sort of motivational book, similar to Chicken Soup For The Soul. Somebody must have put it with the literary novels by accident. I picked the book up and went to place it back on the shelf, but I hesitated. A statement on the page the book had opened to caught my eye.

_At least five people love you so much that they would die for you._

It was the first statement in a list of "Fifteen Things To Think About." Well, it sure got me thinking.

Usually, I paid no attention to those inspirational, make-you-feel-good-about-yourself kinds of stories, although Trini had always told me that they're very enriching and heartwarming. But when I read that one sentence, my mind started reeling. The names of those five people who would die for me came to my mind not even a second after I finished reading the sentence.

Kim, Tommy, Trini, Zack, Billy.

We're best friends, all six of us. Sure, some of us are closer than others. Me and Tommy, for example, or Kim and Trini, and even Trini and Billy. But when all six of us are together, we're all one big group of best friends. And I trust all five of them with my life, and I know that the trust is mutual among all of us.

It's nice having that kind of trust with people, especially considering the fact that we're all on the same team and I'm their leader.

So I knew right away that the sentence was true. But not only because the six of us are good friends, not only because we trust each other. But because I witness my friends taking hits for each other, and for me, practically every day in battle. Tommy is always jumping in the way of monster's weapons to protect Kim, and sometimes me. And in return, Kim will do anything to help Tommy. Trini seems to always throw herself in front of anything attacking Billy. Zack's just all over the place, blocking everyone else from a punch or a kick whenever he can.

And then there's all the things we do for each other that aren't as big as getting hit by an oversized monster to spare someone else. Like when Tommy rebuilt Kim's float after it had been destroyed by Putties. Or all the times Billy helps us with our science homework. Or Zack's always-present sense of humor that brings smiles to everyone's faces, even if his jokes aren't very funny.

It's both the great and the smaller things that my friends do for each other that make that one statement so true. And even though I would never admit it out loud, I know that my friends all love me, in different ways, and I love them, in different ways. Lord knows I wouldn't hesitate to jump in front of a bullet to protect them, and I know that they all feel the same way about me and everyone else.

"Hey!" Kim's perky voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "What is that?" She peered at the book I was holding.

"Oh, um, just some kind of motivational book," I replied. "Somebody misplaced it next to The Grapes of Wrath, and I knocked it off the shelf accidentally."

"I thought you didn't like that kind of stuff."

"I don't. But I was just looking through some of it and thinking about some things."

Kim smiled. "I knew Trini would eventually rub off on you."

I smiled back. "So did you find anything?"

Kim held up a paperback book. "To Kill A Mockingbird. What do you think?"

"That could work," I agreed. "Let's buy it." I looked down at the book in my hands. "Do you mind if we buy this, too?"

Kim shrugged. "No, not at all."

As I stood in line with Kim at the cash register, I thought about different places at home where I could hide the book. If Zack ever found out I had bought an inspirational book, he would never let me live it down.

And I would have to listen to "I told you so's" from Trini for the rest of my life.

A/N: This is my first time writing from Jason's POV. Please leave constructive criticism if there's anything I can work on, especially since I might be writing another chapter about him later.


	2. Chapter 2 Kim

A/N: I tried writing this in Trini's POV, but it came out horrible. I found Kim a little easier to write about, so that's why I wrote this part like this.

Setting: Same as Jason's.

Chapter 2

Trini and I are different in a lot of ways. She's Asian, I'm white. She's into all different kinds of martial arts, I'd rather be tumbling on a balance beam. She's calm and reserved, I'm loud and perky.

Of course, our differences don't bother me. I accept them, and so does Trini. But the one that kind of gets to me the most is the fact that she doesn't have to try so hard, and I find myself trying too hard.

Jason showed me that book he had bought the other day and had me read the list he'd been pondering over in the store. I read one sentence in the list that went, "A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you," and I immediately thought of Trini. It's almost impossible to dislike Trini. She's so kind, so mature, so trustworthy.

And she doesn't have to try hard to be that way. She just _is_ kind, mature, trustworthy (among plenty of other things), and she doesn't even have to think about it. It's natural for her. If someone drops their books in the hallway, she's instantly by their side to help pick them up. She doesn't think, "Oh, maybe I should help them," she just does it without hesitation.

And with that kindness comes her gracious smile, the one that a new student in school could look at once and immediately feel as if they've been Trini's friend for years. Trini's smile affects so many people in so many different ways; it welcomes someone who's new, it consoles someone who's upset, it makes someone who's sad smile, too; and just like the statement says, it can make even Trini's worst enemies (not that she has any) happy, too.

People tell me I have that same kind of effects. But that's because I'm friendly. I see a new person, walk right up to them, and strike up a random conversation. That might seem kind all in itself, but Trini would walk up to them, offer to show them around town, eat lunch with them, whatever. There's a difference between the two actions. The kindness I possess comes from being overly-friendly; the kindness Trini possesses comes from being naturally kind.

But it gives me something to look up to, something to aspire towards. I can only hope to have things like that come easy to me.

I don't mean to bring myself down and put Trini on a pedestal. She definitely deserves it, but I don't want to give off the impression that I'm so unconfident in myself that I think I should be so far down below her. Trini's my best friend, but even more than that, my role model. I admire her, everything about her - the kindness she has that I've been blabbering on and on about, her confidence in herself, her discipline, her positive attitude about life, her common sense, her intelligence.

Thinking about all of those things about Trini, I realize that I have some, well a lot, of those qualities, too. I'm confident in myself, too. Sure, I get a little self-conscious around Tommy, but he's so good-looking that I can't help it. Anyway, I have the discipline to train for gymnastics, I'm optimistic, I'm pretty smart myself.

Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't let the fact that I have to work hard at some things while Trini doesn't bother me.

After all, we aren't as different as I thought we were.

A/N: Sorry it's so short, but aside from the first part, the rest are going to be about the same length. I hope no one minds, it can be hard to write a bunch of pages based on a fifteen word sentence.


	3. Chapter 3 Jason II

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A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry it took so long for the update, I was on vacation and I just started a summer job so I haven't had a lot of free time.

Setting: A few weeks after Green No More and a little after White Light.

Chapter 3

The first few weeks after Tommy lost his powers were awful. I was furious with myself. If I would have tried just a little harder, I could have had that candle, and we would still be a team of six.

Instead, we were a team of five again, and I blamed myself. Every time I thought about Tommy's last battle, I kept telling myself that it was all my fault and I was a failure. It didn't matter that Tommy told me he didn't blame me for anything, or that Zordon

understood that I had to make a tough decision and told me I was still a good leader. In my mind, everything was my fault. It had been my responsibility to retrieve that candle, and I had let Tommy and everyone else down.

Trini had told me that I put too much pressure on myself and took the role of leader too far. But I didn't believe her. I thought that I wasn't putting enough pressure on myself. If was a better or stronger leader, I would have pulled through for my team. I wouldn't have put my best friend in jeopardy and caused him to lose his powers. I would have saved Tommy and kept our team of six together. But I didn't. I had made the worst decision of my life, and now I was paying for it.

I tried everything to make myself feel better. I was constantly punching at the punching bag or practicing with the tackling dummy to let out my frustrations. I ran for miles and lifted weights. When none of that helped, I tried reading that book I had bought a while ago with Kim. But that didn't work, either. The only thing that seemed to have some kind of effect on me was another quote from the list - "When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes out of it."

Well, I had made the mistake almost a month ago and still nothing good had happened. I had decided to submit an application to the peace conference in Switzerland, which had probably been the best decision I've made over the past couple of months, but the "something good" that I really wanted - for Tommy to have another chance at being a Ranger - still hadn't happened.

Then, only about two or three days after I reread the list, Billy came to the rest of us with a shocking discovery. Zordon was creating a new Ranger.

This was not the "something good" I was expecting. I wanted Tommy back on our team, I didn't want a completely new Ranger.

But, boy, was I in for a surprise.

When Tommy removed his white helmet, I was shocked. I almost fainted like Kim did, but luckily I composed myself. I listened to Zordon explain that Tommy would become the new leader, which came as a relief to me because I was desperately hoping to be selected for the World Teen Summit.

So the "something good" had finally happened, and it even had a bonus with it. It didn't matter that my leadership was being taken away from me and given to someone else. I would miss it and it would take a lot of getting used to, especially if I wasn't picked for the Summit and wouldn't have to leave, but it was worth it to have Tommy back.

Over the next couple of days, the guilt I had felt slowly started to fade. It felt so good to be a team of six again, to have my "bro" back on the team again. Things were different now, though. Tommy was wearing a different color and commanded a different Zord. He had a different way of leading the team and used different strategies. He gave different orders and handled things differently.

But in a way, things were still exactly the same.

And that was the 'something good' I had hoped for.


	4. Chapter 4 Tommy

A/N: Sorry it took a long time. It's a combination of cheering practices, softball games, work, writer's block, and sheer laziness. And I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far, I'm glad everyone's enjoying the story.

Setting: Right after White Light

Chapter 4

"When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you believe in yourself, sooner or later, you will."

Man, is that quote true. I read it in this list Jason found in some inspirational book. Zack accidentally came across it in Jason's book bag one day in school, although Jason had tried hard to hide it, and showed it to the rest of us. I leafed through it until I found a page titled "Fifteen Things To Think About" and read that one quote. I couldn't believe how dead-on that statement had been about everything I've experienced these past few weeks.

When I lost my Green Powers, I thought my Ranger days were over for good. It seemed typical of my life up until that point, though. You know, move to a new town, learn to get settled to a certain way of living, and have to give it up only months later. There was nothing new there.

It hurt. Giving up my powers hurt more than giving up anything else before. I missed fighting. I missed controlling the Dragonzord. I missed Zordon's wise instructions and Alpha's witty guidance. It hurt to go to school and worry about what we would get hit with that day, then realize I didn't have to worry about that anymore. It hurt to practice in the Youth Center and hear the beeping of my friends' communicators and know that I couldn't follow them to a secluded corner to find out what was wrong.. It hurt to walk by Angel Grove Park and see my friends in their uniforms and know there was no way I could help them.

I had to get away from it all. I felt like I had no reason to stay in Angel Grove. Angel Grove had been the first town that my family moved to that I felt I actually had reasons to be there, and it had been taken away from me. Sure, I had a close group of friends, which had never happened whenever my family moved before, but things were different between us now. I couldn't stand it.

So I went to my uncle's cabin. It sounds strange, but being farther away from all the action made me not miss things as much. If I wasn't around my friends every day in school, it was hard to miss them. If I didn't have to look out my bedroom window and watch the Megazord fighting some kind of monster, I didn't miss being in combat as much. At my uncle's cabin, I could think about my friends and Zordon and Alpha without hurting too much, as long as I didn't have to watch anything happen and know that I still could have been fighting.

Eventually the pain went away completely. I would spend my days sitting up on the mountains or taking long walks through the woods or just sitting on the front porch of the cabin, thinking, remembering, and the peacefulness and quietness helped ease the pain. The day had finally come when I could watch the news and see a reporter covering one of the Rangers' battles and not get a funny feeling in my stomach from knowing it used to be me fighting, too.

But although the pain went away, I began to feel lonely, and I started to get really hard on myself. When I first lost my powers, I didn't blame anyone. But after a couple weeks at the cabin, I started to think that if I had done certain things differently, I would still be a ranger.

So I had to go back. I'd been away from Angel Grove for long enough. I was confident that I could face my friends without it hurting or that I could watch them fight without feeling any pain. I needed to be around people again, people who believed in me, because my belief in myself was wavering.

I never would have imagined that when I returned, I would have another chance at becoming a Ranger again, much less the leader.

I guess I should have known that Zordon and Alpha would do something to get me back on the team. They'd done it the first time my Green Powers were drained; I don't know what made me think they wouldn't do it again.

I like to think it was the fact that I had finally found the courage to face everyone in Angel Grove again that showed I was starting to believe in myself again. That was the belief in myself I needed to finally get what I wanted.

The quote is true. When I would wish I was a ranger again but then tell myself there was no chance of it happening, it didn't happen. But when I started to believe that there was a chance of anything happening, I got what I wanted.

Having a little faith in yourself sure goes a long way.


	5. Chapter 5 Kim II

**A/N: **I know, I know. I'm sorry it's been so long. I've rewritten this fifth chapter time and time again, but I'm pretty satisfied with the way it came out this time, so here it is for you, finally!

**Setting**: I screwed around with the timeline a little bit to make this part so that it's a couple months after "The Power Transfer" but Kim's already living with Aisha.

**Chapter Five**

Jason, Trini, and Zack have been in Geneva for almost two months now, and I really miss them a lot. I've already gotten countless letters from each of them, and wrote several back to them in return, but it doesn't make things any easier.

Jason did leave me with his inspirational book, though. I flip through it whenever I think about him and Trini and Zack. The stories and poems in it are amazing. Very uplifting.

That same list still gets to me, though.

The second time I read it, I found a different statement and realized how lucky I am.

"At least fifteen people in this world love you in some way."

It makes me realize how fortunate I am to have that many people in my life who care about and love me. I mean, some people would only be able to think of six or seven people. But for me, thinking of fifteen people is easy.

First, there's my parents. I guess it kind of goes without saying that they love me, and I love them, but there are kids who don't have such great mothers and fathers. I sort of lucked out, because even though my parents are divorced and they both moved away, they both let me know that they still love me and care about me. They still support me, still encourage me, send plenty of letters, call at least twice a week. Both my parents are happy with the way things are between them, and it makes me happy, too.

My mom's fiancé. He's already treating me as if I'm his daughter. He sends me letters other than the ones he writes with my mom and calls me on his own every week or so. And he's truly concerned about how I'm doing in school, how things are going with Tommy, how my gymnastics is going. I love him almost as much as I love my real dad. My mom is really happy with him, so it makes me happy, too.

Trini. Trini's been my best friend for years. Although she wasn't always as eager to go on a shopping trip or she didn't get giddy over some school-girl crush, we were great friends. Up until I met Trini in junior high, Jason was one of the only good friends I had, so it was nice to become close with someone who didn't play with toy swords or play video games every day after school. Even in sixth grade, Trini was as kind and compassionate as she is now. And she's supportive and encouraging. I don't know how I would have survived the first couple weeks of Rangering without her encouraging me not to quit.

Jason. The brother I should have had but never got. Jason's my "big brother," he always was and he always will be. He always looks out for me. Although I swore to him plenty of times that I could take care of myself, he never seemed to hear. It didn't stop him from sticking up for me, defending me, helping me, as if he was my real brother. It all started back in second grade when we first became friends. I was a short, skinny little kid, and he was already tall and broad for a seven-year-old, so I guess that on top of trying to prove he was tough, he thought that he had to protect me. Back then, I used to love having someone always guarding my back, but I guess he never got used to the fact that I became perfectly capable of defending myself.

Zack. Zack is a such a fun-loving, charismatic guy, it's hard not to like him. He's funny and charming and always optimistic, kind of like a male version of me. He would do anything to keep his friends smiling because he never wants to see anyone he cares about upset. Zack is so passionate about everything he does...dancing, football, fighting, his work at the Peace Conference. He just loves life and tries to make the best out of every situation, something I've always admired about him.

Billy. Billy wouldn't hurt a fly...probably because he loves science and nature! When I used to be a cheerleader in junior high, some of the other girls on the squad would tease me about being friends with a "nerd," but it didn't bother me because I didn't see Billy as a nerd. Sure, he was smart and spent a lot of time doing homework, but there was a different side to him, one that only Jason and I saw (at least in the beginning). To me, he wasn't just the skinny little smart kid who never talked unless he was answering a question in class. In front of me (and Jason), he wasn't afraid to let the more talkative Billy shine through, the Billy that didn't always use big words or didn't just talk about science. And he was a good listener. He never seemed to mind listening to me ramble on about some boy I had a crush on or about how I nailed yet another beam routine at gymnastics. Most of the time, he just stared at me with a blank expression on his face while I talked, but he always listened carefully. And sometimes, that's one of the greatest things a friend can do to let you know he truly cares.

Aisha. I've been living with her and her parents for a few weeks now, and it's working out great. Aisha's so much like me. I think we get along so well because we have such similar personalities. She is as every bit fashion-conscious as I am, outgoing like I am. Maybe not as perky, but I'm glad her personality doesn't exactly match mine. I tell Aisha everything. She's so trustworthy and reliable and, in the short time I've known her, she's never spilled a secret I told her. Aisha has such a huge heart. She's caring and understanding and very tactful. Just like Jason's the brother I should have had, Aisha's the sister I should have had.

Rocky. Rocky's a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, always in a good mood although he knows how to control himself in more serious situations. He does have a tendency to get a little rambunctious and even obnoxious, though. He's very blunt about things, but he's very honest, and I appreciate the way he tells things like they are. It definitely makes for some interesting conversations with him, too. Rocky's not the kind of person I would confide in, but when I'm in a bad mood, he always seems to be there to do something to make me laugh, and he doesn't even have to try hard to do so. Rocky's just a naturally funny guy. Dealing with Ranger duties would be a lot worse if Rocky wasn't around to brighten things up.

Adam. Adam is one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. He's shy, but I've had some long conversations with him since we first met, and he can be outgoing in his own way without being overly obnoxious. If Aisha's not around and I need to talk to someone about Tommy, or if I'm discouraged after a gymnastics practice, I call Adam. I pour my heart out to him a lot, and he never seems to mind. He always makes me feel better. Adam's very wise, so he's great at giving advice. But even when he doesn't have any to share, he sticks by my side and lets me know that I always have his shoulder to lean on.

Tommy. My white knight in shining armor. I love him so much, and I know he feels the same way about me. He's the greatest boyfriend ever. He treats me so well and I'm happier with him than I've ever been before. As strong a fighter as he is, he's so sweet and gentle with me. And he really understands me. I can be my ditzy self around him and he doesn't care. He puts up with my perkiness, my obsession with shopping, my stubbornness with my training.

Aisha's parents. They're so great for letting me stay with them so I wouldn't have to move to Paris with my mom. They treat me with the same amount of love and respect that they do with Aisha, and I love them just as much as I love my own parents. Of course, like with my own parents, we argue sometimes and I don't agree with all of their rules, but I'm glad they don't make exceptions for me just because I'm not their real daughter. If they did, it would probably make for some pretty bad fights between me and Aisha, and I would never want that to happen. But I do feel pretty special because I _am_ the only person I know with four parents and a stepdad-to-be!

Zordon and Alpha. These two will probably never know the impact they've had on my life, on every Ranger's life. They do a lot more than just tell us how to defeat a monster. They encourage us, they pick us up when we're down, they protect us. They're there to help us through the hard times, not just hard battles, but through the hard times of life. I can't imagine having to do all the Ranger duties without either of them.

I've never realized how luck I am to have so many people in my life who care about me so much. But I'm glad they've all been a part of my life in some way, because I would definitely not be the same without any of them.


	6. Chapter 6 Rocky

**A/N: **Quick update, huh? This part wasn't supposed to come until a couple chapters later, but I already had half of it written so I finished it this weekend and decided to post it now. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, I appreciate it a lot! Constructive criticism is always welcome, too.

**Setting: **During MMPR:TM

**Chapter 6**

What a whirlwind of a week this turned out to be.

First, a giant egg appears out of nowhere and hatches, revealing this gross slimy guy named Ivan Ooze. Then we travel to a distant planet to find a great power, where we see even crazier things than we do on Earth and where my best friend decides to scare the crap out of me when she refuses to get out of the way of this possessed dinosaur skeleton, and the damn thing starts attacking her. Then we finally get the power, get back home to find Angel Grove in chaos, defeat Ivan Ooze, find Zordon dead, and bring him back to life. After all that, we get this huge celebration at the Youth Center and have to listen to Bulk and Skull try to convince everyone that they were the ones who had beaten Ivan. Then I finally tell the girl I love how I feel about her, she doesn't seem to happy about it, and then she kisses me.

I don't think I'd ever had so many ups and downs in a matter of a few days as I did during all that.

Phaedos actually turned out to be pretty cool...if you don't take into consideration that we were attacked by Tengas, I got my hand bruised by this warrior princess named Dulcea (all I was trying to do was say a simple thank you, and the chick tries to break my hand with a stick that made my eardrums shatter when she spun it around), Aisha almost got eaten alive, I was thrown against a rock, and then I almost fell off a cliff.

But the Tengas, Dulcea saved us from them. My hand, it's already starting to heal. The rock, I blacked out for a moment but didn't really feel any pain. Me falling off a cliff, well, Adam was there to save me from that, too.

But the fact that I almost lost my best friend in the graveyard...I admit, I was terrified. I was so afraid she'd be gone and I would never see her again. I yelled at her to get away from the dinosaur, but she didn't move until it started chasing her. She got cornered and had no weapon or anything to defend herself.

And at that moment, I wasn't thinking about anything else in the world except protecting the girl I loved more than anything else in the world.

I hadn't always been in love with Aisha. I had always thought she was cute, but I never had feelings for her before. I don't know when that changed, though. It might have been before we moved from Stone Canyon, it might not have been until after we transferred to Angel Grove. But I remembered how I started calling her just to hear her voice, or how I'd purposely do something silly just to hear her laugh and see her smile. I began to really take advantage of every opportunity I had to spend time with her. But something was stopping me from telling her how I felt about her. I'd never even attempted to tell her before.

Anyway, back to the graveyard on Phaedos. I found a bone on the ground and clubbed the thing in the head. Its head snapped back and hit me hard in the stomach, and I went flying through the air. As I fell against a slope, I vaguely remembered hearing Kim scream my name before I blacked out for a few seconds. I ended up being okay, but I couldn't shake the sight of Aisha almost being eaten by a skeleton out of my head.

As if that wasn't enough, she had to go get cornered again by a gatekeeper. I tried to get the boulder guy to talk to me about his problems, but he wasn't very compromising. Luckily, Kim, Tommy, and Billy had come up with a plan to crush him, it worked, and we got the new power.

Back in Angel Grove, with our new Zords, we tricked Ivan into flying to space, where he was blown up by a giant comet.

The celebration at Ernie's outdoor restaurant the next night wasn't bad, either, considering the fact that Bulk and Skull were taking credit for everything. I was busy contemplating whether or not I should talk to Aisha about how I felt about everything that had happened on Phaedos when Tommy's martial arts student, Fred, came over by us. We talked to him for a few minutes and then a fireworks show started. We were all standing by the guardrail of the patio, cheering. I saw Tommy and Kim hugging each other, and then I watched Aisha laughing with Billy for a few moments. With butterflies in my stomach, I pulled her away from the other four, making it seem like I just wanted to talk to her casually in private.

"You know, you really scared me in the graveyard," I told her with a smile.

Aisha blushed. "Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I just froze. I couldn't think of anything to do to get away from that thing." She looked up at me real fast before looking down at the ground. "Thanks for jumping in to save me. Both times."

I shrugged. "It was nothing."

"Rocky, you almost got killed!"

"Yeah, but so did you," I shot back.

"Well, I'm just happy to know you care about me that much to risk your life for mine."

I leaned on the railing of the patio. "Aish, we've been best friends for ten years. I care about you a lot. Probably even more than you could know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Aisha didn't know it, but this time she was the one doing the cornering. I almost didn't say anything, but she was looking at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. She knew me too well, and I knew I wouldn't be able to cover up what I really wanted to say...not without her telling me she knew I was lying, anyway.

So I started blabbering on and on about how she meant the world to me and that I didn't know what I would have done if something had happened to her on Phaedos and that I wanted to be more than just her best friend. When she didn't say anything back, I started to walk away, but she grabbed my arm and turned me back around to face her. Before I knew what was happening, she reached up, wrapped her hands around my neck, and kissed me.

When she pulled away, I stared into her deep brown eyes for a moment. "I take it that means you feel the same way?" I asked with a huge grin on my face.

Aisha just giggled and hugged me tightly.

That had just added another up to my emotional roller coaster ride.

As we stood by the railing watching the fireworks display come to an end, ignoring the laughs and teasing remarks of our friends, I remembered reading something in a book that Jason had left with Kimberly before he left for Switzerland with Trini and Zack. It was an inspirational book, and I had found it on Kim's bed once when I was at Aisha's house. There was a list in it, called "Fifteen Things To Think About." But there was one thing in that list that summed up everything perfectly.

"If not for you, someone might not be living."


	7. Chapter 7 Aisha

A/N: So after three months, I've finally gotten around to updating this. Sorry it's been so long. I hope no one's lost interest in this story, because I do have every intention of finishing it, eventually.

Setting: Two-three weeks after MMPR:TM.

Chapter Seven

"Okay, quadratic formula. The opposite of _b_ plus or minus the square root of _b _squared minus four times _a_ times _c_ divided by two," I murmured out loud to myself as I stared at my algebra book. I carefully read problem thirteen and began to plug in numbers. "..which equals four root two," I concluded once I completed the problem. I flipped to the back of the book to check if my answer was right. "Or nine…"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I rested my chin in the palm of my left hand. Math had never been my best subject. I would rather fight a monster than do my algebra homework.

I reread my work, trying to figure out where I went wrong. But after only a few seconds, I began to gaze around my room absentmindedly. My eyes traveled over Kim's rather messy side of the room (she had gotten home from school and immediately started to empty out her drawers in a desperate attempt to find a perfect outfit for a date she was going on with Tommy and never cleaned up), then over my calendar (I read it over quickly and remembered that I had a dentist's appointment the next afternoon), and finally over to mine and Kim's bulletin board, on which we kept all of our pictures and other mementos.

I smiled when my eyes spotted a picture of me and Rocky kissing on my living room couch. Kim, the sneaky little bitch, had taken it from the staircase a couple days ago. Neither Rocky nor I had noticed until Kim put it up on the board.

My mind wandered off to Rocky-land. I had always had a crush on him, ever since we were seven and he first moved next door to me. I thought everything about him was adorable - the twinkle he would get in his eyes when he was goofing off, the way he poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue when he was thinking seriously about something, his ability to eat endless amounts of food. But I had never told him how I felt. I wasn't really afraid of him rejecting me, although that possibility had always lingered in my mind. But it was mostly because Rocky was never really the kind of guy I imagined as my boyfriend. He was a great best friend, but I couldn't picture myself going on dates with him or kissing him or doing 'couple' stuff with him.

But when he told me he loved me at the Youth Center after we beat Ivan Ooze, all those things changed in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, I couldn't imagine being with anybody else except Rocky.

I remember how I felt that night perfectly. When Rocky had told me I meant the world to him and that he had been so afraid of losing me on Phaedos, my heart melted. Being so close to him, I had always sort of anticipated that I had meant the world to him - as a good friend. But when I realized I meant the world to him because he was in love with me, I was completely breathless.

It's just like that list in Kim's book. (Well, it's actually Jason's. He was the one who had bought it, but he left it with Kim before he went to Switzerland.) "You mean the world to someone."

It's a wonderful feeling, knowing that I'm one person's entire world. It makes me feel so alive, so happy, so confident that I can handle anything. When I think about how much Rocky loves me, I feel like nothing can bring me down.

But at the same time, I feel pretty scared, too. Knowing that somebody loves me that much makes me so afraid to make a mistake, afraid to do something that will change the way he feels about me in an instant. Rocky put me on a pretty high pedestal, and I'm so afraid to do something that will make me fall off and hit rock bottom. I'm not sure that Rocky would ever look down on me, even if I did do something to make him disappointed in me, but still. I put even more effort into everything I do now to ensure that he won't get mad at me. I don't know if I would be able to bear it if Rocky was angry with me. He never became angry with me before, but now that we're a couple, a lot of things have changed, and that could change, too.

Taking a deep breath and clearing my head, I looked back down at my algebra homework with a groan. But then I remembered that Rocky was an excellent math student.

Keeping that in mind, I decided that I could become great at solving the quadratic formula if I kept trying and went back to work.


End file.
